Gordon Law awarded testimonial after 25 years at Uphall

MARTIN DEMPSTER

He may describe himself as a “basic club pro” but it’s been a far from ordinary career for Edinburgh man Gordon Law.

Not everyone, after all, can boast to have played in all four rounds in The Open, as Law did at Royal Lytham in 1996. He’s also been British Club Pros champion, having claimed that title on Scottish soil at St Andrews Bay in 2003, the same year the Northern Open fell to him at Cruden Bay.

The latter completed the big Tartan Tour double after his win in the Scottish PGA at Downfield in Dundee in 1997.

“I’ve had a pretty good playing career, even though I feel a long way away from that at the moment,” said Law after missing the cut in this week’s M&H Logistics Scottish PGA Championship at Gleneagles.

“For a basic club pro, there’s some decent stuff on my CV, the highlight probably for the members having been me playing four rounds in The Open, I’d have thought. Winning the PGA Cup (he was part of a GB&I team that beat the Americans in the club pro’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup at the K Club in 2005) was definitely another highlight and winning the Scottish PGA Championship is one of the biggest things a player like me can do.”

Next weekend, Livingston-based Law will be rewarded for 25 years service at Uphall, having spent the latter part of that period as not just as the pro but also the course manager. To mark the milestone, the West Lothian club is hosting a well-deserved testimonial for the man who has not only served it admirably but flown its flag with pride on the Scottish circuit.

“Can I believe I’ve been here so long? I probably can, actually, because I’ve never even thought about moving,” said Law, who cut his golfing teeth at Portobello and also played as an amateur at the Braids. He was an assistant at Deer Park before moving to Uphall as a pro.

“It means a lot to me that the club came to me and asked if I wanted a testimonial for being there for 25 years. They obviously appreciate that I’ve been there for that long and I appreciate that, too.

“The people have been great. There have been different challenges along the way. Obviously 15-20 years was a totally different challenge to what it is now economically. I have a different role now than back then when I was able to play quite a lot but the people have been very supportive throughout my time at Uphall. I could have moved on somewhere else probably – possibly even abroad–– but I was pretty perturbed when the golf club was in a pretty bad situation in 2010 and thought you either get your sleeves rolled up or walk away from it.

“I’m delighted that I chose the former because the club has definitely moved on. It’s on an even keel. We have done so much work over the past five or six years to turn things around. I’ve been part of it, but there are around half-a-dozen people that have really driven it forward.

“Golf-course wise the product is as good as I’ve ever seen it in 25 years and that is great. If you don’t get the product right, then you will be struggling.”